Melam | Creatividad como Resistencia

Melam is a cultural collective that showcases global artists and creators with local roots. Founded by Barcelona based creatives, Sejal Parekh, a British-Indian interdisciplinary artist and Davina Rajoopillai, a British Sri- Lankan a creative and cultural consultant.

Our second gathering, Creativity as Resistance, explores the idea that to create is to resist to dream beyond what confines us, to rebuild from what’s been lost, to celebrate resilience and renewal, and to imagine what comes next.

This event brings together women whose practices span textile design, journalism, film, performance, and food each using creativity as a tool for connection, healing, and transformation. Though their roots reach to Bangladesh, Iran, India, Cameroon, and Palestine, they all now call Barcelona home. Their stories reflect the many ways imagination becomes action through storytelling, craft, community, and care.

Join us for an evening of conversation, poetry and shared food from Gazzawi Cuisine BCN a Palestinian kitchen led by women refugees who have rebuilt their lives in Barcelona.

Born into a rich mix of Bangladeshi, Irani, Pakistani, and Burmese heritage, Mallika Chaudhuri grew up surrounded by these cultural influences, beautiful textiles and strong women with complex stories who inspired her deep respect for craftsmanship and culture.

After earning a degree in Textile Design and spending a decade in high-street fashion with Inditex, she felt a pull to return to slow, conscious creation — reconnecting with heritage, artistry, and the planet.

This led to the founding of INDOI, an ancient name given to the people of the Indus Valley. INDOI celebrates this region’s heritage and the legacy of its women through seasonless, timeless garments made with natural fibres — crafted with pride and care. INDOI Ghar (home) is the continuation of this journey on a quest for an open dialogue between different cultures and to create an authentic home for craft, culture and community.

Agnes Essonti Luque is a Cameroonian-Spanish visual artist, curator, and researcher whose practice centers on questions of identity, heritage, culture, belonging, and memory, approached from a decolonial and Afrofeminist perspective.

Her multidisciplinary work—spanning photography, video, performance, installation, and writing—draws on postcolonial and Black thought, exploring both the construction and deconstruction of Afrodiasporic identity in Spain, as well as themes of hybridity, language, nostalgia, and the family archive.

She has participated in major biennials including Biennale für Freiburg (2025), MANIFESTA 15 (2024), the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale (2023) and Rencontres de Bamako (2015). Her performances have been featured at institutions such as Museo Reina Sofía, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno and Museu Tàpies. In 2025, she was awarded the Ojo Crítico Prize in Visual Arts. Her work is included in collections such as Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and Fundación Montemadrid.

Deepa Parent is an independent journalist focused on international conflicts and their disproportionate impact on women and marginalized communities. An alumna of University College Dublin, she reports for The Guardian on Iran and contributes to La Vanguardia on global affairs, highlighting the intersection of gender, human rights, and conflict.

Her work sheds light on how women and vulnerable groups bear the brunt of crises, while also using creativity and courage to resist dictatorships and lead struggles for freedom and justice.

Gazzawi Cuisine BCN is a Palestinian kitchen led by Asma who have fled genocide with her family less than a year ago and are rebuilding their lives in Barcelona.

Asma, keeps her Palestinian pride, culture and connection alive through food. Through their dishes, they turn memory into nourishment and tradition into a living form of resistance, offering a culinary experience that weaves together culture, community, and hope.